Really does everything an expansion should do - tweak the system and provide a different experience while still being true to the spirit of the game. Where Iberia was perhaps a bit too much of the same and Germany was too gamey, unstable, and not-slick, Netherlands finds a nice middle ground. A similarly clean ruleset but with a totally different dynamic outcome.

Nice! Easily the best of the (3) SNCF expansions, The Netherlands expansion tightens up the game significantly, works on a smaller board with a radically different setup, and changes the flavour but not the basic excellent feel and flow of the original.

By adding a component where completely exhausted railways bankrupt their 'least competitive' rivals, the pool of available cubes diminishes very rapidly.

This means the game flows to a quicker conclusion, without as much gamey trading and acquisition, and more focus on stock acquisition/value building.

Reserving an initial rating, but after a 1st play I'd guess this will likely exceed the original SNCF, which I also love.

ASL ... yes, this is my Desert Island Game. If I have to give up all my 3000+ games and only allowed to keep one, this would be it. This bloody game stood the test of time. Around for more than 25 years - simply the best.

Devoted Follower of the Most Holy Church of the Evil Bob. Possessed and down the road to become chaotic, evil & naughty. All hail the Evil Bob and his Stargate.

Bad enough that it made me question whether I actually like Paris Connection. (I do, thankfully.)

I don't like the map. The starting positions don't seem balanced, suggesting too strongly which railroads you should invest in. The northern half of the map doesn't seem to get touched. There is no Marseille ending condition to flirt with.

The rules tweak is that each time a railroad's train inventory is exhausted, the least-used railroad loses all its inventory. Effectively the game just ends once three railroads have been used up instead of five. But in the base game I think trying to figure out what to do with the railroads everyone has been ignoring is actually one of the most interesting parts of the game.